Koicha

I had the chance to taste Koicha for the first time in Kyoto, it was in Ippodo. I keep a vivid souvenir of this... I've only been an occasional (usucha) matcha drinker but this Koicha experience may have changed everything.

David R. wrote:I had the chance to taste Koicha for the first time in Kyoto, it was in Ippodo. I keep a vivid souvenir of this... I've only been an occasional (usucha) matcha drinker but this Koicha experience may have changed everything.

So I was wondering if there was any Koicha fans around here.

I and my girlfriend are both huge fans of Koicha, I try to always keep a tin handy and usually make a really kicking bowl with about four large chashaku per person, although sometimes I go up to eight. I usually drink a communal bowl as it can be more difficult to prepare a single bowl, with anything less than eight chashaku, while using only traditional tools. I like my koicha to be the consistency of latex paint and have enough "stick" to the bowl that it then makes a good cup of usucha. A koicha habit can really start to add up when you factor the amount of tea per bowl and the cost per gram... But it's so worth it.

I've tried once, well... i might be not ready yet Too concentrated taste for me, like drinking tea syrup. Aftertaste was nice, but for now i enjoy more usucha. If i'm using koicha grade matcha, then i just use more tea, but keep same amount of water.

Of course i would like to try koicha with some really good matcha and fitting traditional sweets. But this is something not easy to come by. So, koicha is even more special, than good gyokuro!

I've had the koicha at Ippodo in Kyoto and I've never been able to make it as good. I even had them make it for me so that I could see how they do it. They use a lot of matcha...and their wagashi are awesome. I can't even hope to duplicate that experience at home...but I do try once in a while.

Anyone knows what is different between koicha from main three tea ceremony schools? I've read several different methods about how to make koicha, looks like some of them were just thought out or just modifications.

Not a big koicha fan myself - have attempted, and failed. I remember thick tea flicking around the vicinity as the chasen tines would release from the chawan with thick tea coating them. What a mess. I didn't get mine thick enough - but even still, I think I was half way there or so, the sip was a big fisted punch of matcha in the mouth and the aftertaste lasted for minutes or longer and kept evolving. And the buzz...I suppose I could see why folks would like koi.

Perhaps I'll try again one day.

I have the right matcha - Ippodo's wakamatsu, but as Chip mentioned - would be expensive to drink koi regularly. And... since I drink matcha every morning, budgetarily best to drink usu.

Learning from a Ippodo's master, the basic of good koicha is the balance of umami and Shibumi. The first is easy, but to understand and enjoy Shibumi is much more difficult. An acquire taste perhaps? The more of both characters indicate the higher the grade.

I've been studying tea ceremony quite intensively for the last 18 months now, and I've reached the stage of making koicha now (I've made koicha both in the 'ro' and 'furo' seasons).

As someone suggested, it does require a lot of practice, and patience. I find that hot water REALLY does make the difference between having a beautifully made bowl of koicha, as well as the ratio of hot water to maccha; otherwise it will turn out very gluggy and almost not fit to drink!!

Personally for me, if I'm preparing a bowl of maccha for 3 people, (san-me-sama, as we'd say it in the chanoyu), I prepare 10 heaped scoops of maccha, and using a hishaku (bamboo ladle), I tend to pour in 3/4 of a scoop of water first, whisk the maccha 150 times (50 per person), then I pour another 1/2 scoop of water, whisk again until all the tea has completed been taken up by the water. It is definitely best served piping hot!!!

Hope that hasn't confused the hell out of you all! Just thought I'd share my experience of koicha.

I now have 2 koicha matcha, including the best grade from Horaido teashop, I always sift the matcha before making koicha, it is a must, and I use 4 to 5 chasaku with 40 ml of water, I add a little to make the thick paste, and add the rest to dilute to drinking consistensy, and I drink it and consume a little jaggery (indian date palm sugar) after to help my body absorb the tea, and I drink it once a day, it is a very intense stimulation that lasts 6 hours, if I drink it at 6 pm, I cannot get sleep until 2 am.